[Spitfire75]

Tower draws mostly cheers
Most support Brewery project during crowded council meeting
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Wed. Jun 18 - 5:43 AM


Halkirk’s proposed 21-storey tower on Hollis and Bishop streets. (Contributed)


A proposed 21-storey building for downtown Halifax was creating so much buzz at city hall Tuesday that its future will have to be decided next week.
That’s because regional councillors only had time to entertain 27 speakers out of an expected 54 at a three-hour public hearing.

If Tuesday’s speakers were any indication, expect almost 75 per cent to be in favour of putting the new building on the corner of Hollis and Bishop streets.

That’s an unusual ratio of people in favour of a development.

A hearing at city hall last week for a 19-storey building on the corner of South Park and Brenton streets drew an almost equal number of speakers for and against before council gave it a resounding thumbs up.

Last night, people were asking council to approve the project so Halifax could have a future to go along with its past.

"It’s not about freeze-drying the downtown, it’s about growth in the downtown respecting our heritage without compromising the ability for our city to grow," said Brad Smith of Dartmouth.

Heritage and development don’t have to be mutually exclusive, he said.
That point was picked up by a number of people, many of whom lauded Halkirk Developments for its planned $2-million restoration of historic Keith Hall on Hollis Street.

Halkirk needs to make the money from the residential component of the tower with its condominiums before it can restore the former home of mayor and beer baron Alexander Keith.

"Keith Hall is sitting there rotting," said Paul MacKinnon, executive director of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, noting he’s willing to trade in a little height for its restoration.

Kent Lane, who works with CBCL in the Brewery Market, said the attention to detail on Halkirk’s current proposal is indicative of the "attention to detail" they put into their Salter’s Gate hotel and condo project which opened last summer.

Angus MacDonald said he’s in favour of modernization and development but it must be in keeping with the city’s nearby registered heritage buildings.And while the Alexander would not be an "incongruous monstrosity" like some other nearby buildings, he said, at 21 storeys, it doesn’t fit.

Heritage Trust president Phil Pacey, of Halifax, said the tower was not compatible with the historic nature of the neighbourhood, including historic Government House. The block is also home to the finest collection of Scottish Georgian architecture outside Scotland, he said, and controls should be put in place to ensure its survival.

The area is currently governed by a 7.5-metre height limit, he said.
"And instead of changing the proposal to meet the (planning strategy), the applicant is asking HRM to change the strategy to match its proposal," Mr. Pacey said

Fred Morley of the Greater Halifax Partnership said heritage properties need economic vitality "surrounding and embracing them" or they will slowly crumble.

"We will end up with parking lots. If we don’t accept change of any kind we end up a city with no future, and increasingly no past."

Another speaker said parts of the city are already crumbling.

Before the council meeting, Adam Conter said he walked through a barren Barrington Street with run-down spaces.

"The urban sprawl no longer brings people to the downtown core."
Bringing more density to the downtown core is part of the city’s regional plan, which is being carried forward by its HRM By Design project.

Bill Campbell, who spoke on behalf of the developer, said the project would do just that: bring life to the area and enhance the heritage value of the streetscape through its design.
( apugsley@herald.ca)

Some positive comments on the article too. I really can't see this not going through.